Environmental Science Undergraduate Syllabus Practice Flashcards

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers key terms, legislative acts, core theories, and scientific concepts found in the Environmental Science undergraduate syllabus, spanning topics from earth processes and energy to environmental law and ecology.

Choice Based Credit System (CBCS)

The educational framework under which the Under Graduate Environmental Science Honours course is structured.

Holocene

The geological epoch associated with the emergence of humans, progression of agriculture in the Indian subcontinent, and the evolution of the Indus Valley civilization.

Plate Tectonics

The theory concerning the movement of major plates, continental drift, ocean floor spreading, and the formation of the Himalaya through continental collision.

Rock Cycle

The process involving the formation, lithification, and metamorphism of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks.

Beer–Lambert Law

A spectro-photometric concept used to describe the absorption and transmission of light through a substance.

Gaussian Plume Model

A mathematical model used to describe the dispersal and movement of pollutants from point and area sources in the environment.

Nernst Equation

An equation used in electrochemistry to determine the reduction potential of an electrochemical cell under non-standard conditions.

Xenobiotic Compounds

Synthetic chemical substances, such as pesticides and dyes, that are foreign to the biological system.

Photochemical Smog

A type of air pollution produced by photochemical reactions in the atmosphere involving pollutants like nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds.

Ramsar Convention (1971)

An international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands.

Aquifer

An underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be extracted.

Soil Texture

A physical property of soil determined by the proportion of different-sized particles, affecting water holding capacity and temperature.

r- and K-selection

Two different evolutionary strategies where 'r' focus on high growth rates and 'K' focus on population stability near the carrying capacity.

Keystone Species

A species that has a disproportionately large effect on its community's structure and organization relative to its abundance.

Ecological Niche

The role and position a species has in its environment; types include Eltonian, Hutchinsonian, fundamental, and realized niches.

Central Dogma of Biology

The process detailing the flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to Protein.

Bioremediation

The biotechnological application of using biological systems, such as microbes or plants, to restore degraded ecosystems and treat waste.

Phytoremediation

A specific bioremediation technology that uses plants to remove, transfer, stabilize, or destroy pollutants in soil and water.

El Niño and La Niña

Climate patterns resulting from air and sea interactions in the Pacific Ocean that influence the Indian monsoon and global weather.

Milankovitch Cycles

Cyclical variations in the Earth's orbit and tilt that act as drivers for long-term climate change.

Global Warming Potential (GWP)

A measure of how much heat a greenhouse gas traps in the atmosphere relative to carbon dioxide.

Montreal Protocol (1987)

An international agreement designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of ozone depleting substances (ODS).

Kyoto Protocol (1997)

An international treaty that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions based on the scientific consensus that global warming is occurring.

DNA Barcoding

A taxonomic method that uses a short genetic marker in an organism's DNA to identify it as belonging to a particular species.

Speciation

The evolutionary process by which new biological species arise; types include allopatric, parapatric, sympatric, and peripatric.

Island Biogeography Theory

The study of species richness and distribution on islands, often applied to the design of protected areas and biosphere reserves.

Article 48A

A provision in the Constitution of India regarding the protection and improvement of the environment and safeguarding of forests and wildlife.

Article 51A

The section of the Constitution of India that outlines the fundamental duties of citizens, including environmental protection.

The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act

A primary legislative instrument in India enacted in 1974 to maintain or restore the wholesomeness of water.

Ecomarks

A labeling scheme in India for environment friendly products.

IUCN Red List

An inventory of the global conservation status of biological species, used for risk categorization and conservation planning.

Oparin-Haldane Hypothesis

The scientific hypothesis suggesting that life on Earth could have arisen from non-living matter through a process of 'chemical evolution'.

Hardy-Weinberg Law

A principle of population genetics stating that allele and genotype frequencies in a population will remain constant from generation to generation in the absence of other evolutionary influences.

BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand)

An indicator used to measure the amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic organisms to break down organic material in a water sample.

Activated Sludge Process (ASP)

A biological wastewater treatment method that uses air and a biological floc composed of bacteria and protozoa.

JNN Solar Mission

A major initiative in India to promote solar energy technology and benefits (Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission).

The Tragedy of Commons

A thesis by Hardin describing a situation in a shared-resource system where individual users act independently according to their own self-interest, depleting the resource.

Kuznets Curve

A tool used in environmental economics to represent the relationship between economic growth and environmental quality.

Ganga Action Plan

A major Indian governmental project used as a case study for large-scale freshwater pollution control and river management.

REDD+

A mechanism under the green economy initiative for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation.